This invention relates to semiconductor light emitting devices and assemblies and methods of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to semiconductor Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and assemblies thereof.
Semiconductor LEDs are widely known solid-state lighting elements that are capable of generating light upon application of voltage thereto. LEDs generally include a diode region having first and second opposing faces, and including therein an n-type layer, a p-type layer and a p-n junction. An anode contact ohmically contacts the p-type layer and a cathode contact ohmically contacts the n-type layer. The diode region may be epitaxially formed on a substrate, such as a sapphire, silicon, silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, etc., growth substrate, but the completed device may not include a substrate. The diode region may be fabricated, for example, from silicon carbide, gallium nitride, gallium phosphide, aluminum nitride and/or gallium arsenide-based materials and/or from organic semiconductor-based materials. Finally, the light radiated by the LED may be in the visible or ultraviolet (UV) regions, and the LED may incorporate wavelength conversion material such as phosphor.
LEDs are increasingly being used in lighting/illumination applications, with a goal being to provide a replacement for the ubiquitous incandescent light bulb.
LEDs are increasingly being used in lighting/illumination applications, with a goal being to provide a replacement for ubiquitous incandescent and fluorescent lighting. To accomplish the goal of replacing traditional lighting with LED lighting, LED lighting designers are faced with stringent dimensional, energy efficiency and luminous flux output requirements. Such requirements have caused LED designers to produce LED arrays in varying arrangements. Typical LED arrangements involve the use of wire bonds. The use of wire bonds creates a constraint on the density with which individual LED chips can be packaged together due to mechanical or manufacturing constraints and problems with light absorption, for example due to the wire bond pads. The use of monolithic LED chip arrays can resolve some of the issues with wire bond pads, but the monolithic LED chips may add increased costs, limited shapes and reduced yield.